Continental Resources Targets Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt

The agreement positions Continental to operate the 126,000-acre site with a 100% working interest once a final Contrato de Participación Productiva is secured. CEO Doug Lawler described the opportunity as a landmark event in the firm’s 60-year history, while Chairman Emeritus Harold Hamm suggested the move elevates the company to a new operational tier. This pivot follows a broader trend of U.S. energy firms returning to Venezuela, spurred by shifting diplomatic directives to revitalize the country’s struggling oil infrastructure.

Venezuela currently maintains the world’s largest proven crude reserves, yet its production has cratered by 70% since 2013, leaving the nation contributing less than 1% to global output. Continental, already established in the Bakken and Permian basins and recently expanding into Argentina’s Vaca Muerta, brings the technical expertise required to refine the region’s extra-heavy crude. Alongside this deal, Turkish firm Minerosol Group committed $381.7 million to boost production at the CEMA field, aiming to increase output from 400 to nearly 10,000 barrels per day.